Sports
Patriots Opening Night notebook: DC Terrell Williams happy to be back
Feb 2, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; The New England Patriots during Opening Night for Super Bowl LX at San Jose Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images SAN JOSE, Calif. — Terrell Williams is back with the New England Patriots in time for the Super Bowl.
The defensive coordinator missed most of the season after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in September. He took a leave of absence after being on the sideline for New England’s Week 1 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Williams attended meetings at the Patriots’ facility during his recovery period, but he didn’t travel with the team this season. Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr filled in as New England’s defensive play-caller.
Williams, 51, was declared cancer-free during the playoffs.
“Honestly, my thoughts are about the game and not really about me or the Super Bowl or anything,” he said. “This could be a preseason game and I’d be happy to be here with these guys after kind of what I’ve been through, what we’ve been through.”
The Patriots have allowed an average of 8.6 points per game in their three playoff contests. They forced eight turnovers in those wins over the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos.
–One of the subplots to the Sunday game will be how the Patriots choose to defend Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who led the NFL this season with 1,793 yards while catching 10 touchdown passes among his 119 receptions.
New England could mix coverages, but the Patriots may also assign Christian Gonzalez to Smith-Njigba. Gonzalez, who has become one of the top cornerbacks in the league, intercepted a pass on Denver’s final possession to secure New England’s 10-7 victory in the AFC Championship Game.
“He can do everything from every spot on the field,” Gonzalez said of Smith-Njigba. “He’s a smooth route-runner, can run every route, and he’s just an amazing player. I (have) the utmost respect for him, and I’m excited for Sunday.”
–New England wide receiver Stefon Diggs has 80 receptions for 982 yards and five touchdowns in 17 career playoff games, and he is looking to become the 19th NFL player to reach 1,000 postseason receiving yards.
Diggs, who is in his first season with the Patriots, is currently 20th on the NFL’s all-time postseason list for receiving yards. He enters the Sunday game tied for 12th with 80 postseason receptions and needs six more catches to move into the top 10.
Diggs had 85 receptions for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns in the 2025 regular season.
“I’ve been in the league a long time,” Diggs said Monday night. “As far as the corners, I’ve seen some of the best corners in the game, Hall of Fame corners, Patrick Peterson, Richard Sherman — all those guys.
“I took a lot of lumps earlier in my career, so understanding what I’ve seen, I come with a little bit of experience, I guess, to kind of show out in the game.”
Diggs played for the Minnesota Vikings, the Buffalo Bills and Houston before he signed with New England last March.
–Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels owns six Super Bowl rings, so he knows a bit about planning for the contest.
McDaniels pointed out the oddity of there being a long layoff leading up to the game.
“We don’t have any games during the season where we have two weeks to prepare,” he said, “so you’ve got to be careful you don’t overdo it.”
New England head coach Mike Vrabel earned three Super Bowl rings as a linebacker, but this is his first trip to the Super Bowl since his playing days.
“Josh has been a good resource, obviously,” Vrabel said. “He’s coached in these with the extended break.”
–Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane didn’t practice Monday at Stanford, but he is optimistic his ankle injury won’t prevent him from playing on Sunday. He is listed as questionable.
“I’m doing what I need to do,” Spillane said. “We have a plan scheduled for me to return to play. I’m just trying to do everything I can to make sure we’re right on it.”
Spillane had 97 tackles and two interceptions in 13 regular-season games. He aggravated the nagging ankle injury during the AFC Championship Game.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Celtics return home with chance to finish off reeling Sixers
Apr 26, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) reacts after making a three point basket against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images The Boston Celtics can close out the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the visiting Philadelphia 76ers in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
After splitting two games in Boston, the second-seeded Celtics took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series by beating the seventh-seeded 76ers twice in Philadelphia.
“Played another about-as-bad-as-you-can-play game,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said following Boston’s 128-96 victory in Game 4. “That’s two out of four in this series. Played well in the other two and we got to get back to playing well quickly. Got to go get one.”
Philadelphia can point to defending the perimeter as one of the must-fix items on the 76ers’ list in order to stave off elimination. The Celtics made 24 3-pointers during Game 4, shooting 48.3% overall and 45.3% from 3-point range.
Payton Pritchard, Boston’s backup point guard, made 6 of 12 3-pointers and tossed in 32 points in the Game 4 victory. Pritchard was 2-of-13 from 3-point territory in the first two games of the series and then made 5 of 10 3-pointers in Boston’s Game 3 win.
“I don’t know if I saw anything different,” Pritchard said. “It’s just more playing with that aggression, playing with that spark. I felt it in Game 3. I was telling some of the coaches I thought it was a step in the right direction as far as my aggression and getting my rhythm back.”
Boston’s 24 3-point field goals set a franchise record for made 3-pointers in a playoff game. Jayson Tatum made five shots from beyond the 3-point arc.
“It was very bad,” Nurse said when asked about his team’s defensive effort in Game 4. “It just didn’t seem like any matchup could guard anybody one-on-one. We had them pushed out and bottled up and physical and really off kind of rhythm for a couple games, and there was none of that “
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid returned to the court after missing the first three games in the series following an emergency appendectomy on April 9. He finished with a team-high 26 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, but didn’t get a lot of offensive support.
Tyrese Maxey scored 22 points, but attempted only three shots in the first half. VJ Edgecombe was 2-of-9 from the field and had six points.
“That can’t happen,” Maxey said. “That’s on me. That absolutely can’t happen. That’s unacceptable by me. I was playing within the flow of the game and it kind of just happened that way.
” … We can’t win basketball games with that happening and I take full responsibility on that one.”
Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said the Celtics have to be prepared for Philadelphia’s best effort in Game 5.
“Regardless of who we’re playing against, we have to have an understanding that they are a really good team,” he said. “They can beat you on any given night. They’ve got great talent with the three stars that they have (Embiid, Maxey, and Paul George) and their role players when they are at their best … We’ve got to be disciplined on all the things that we can control – physical, mental, emotional, psychological, tactical, all of them.”
The winner of the Celtics/76ers series will meet either third-seeded New York or sixth-seeded Atlanta in the next round. That series is 2-2 headed back to New York for Game 5 Tuesday.
“We’ve got three chances to win one game,” Jaylen Brown said. “And the goal is just to get it done as soon as possible.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Braves' Reynaldo Lopez a reliever 'for now' to work on delivery flaw
Mar 28, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez (40) throws against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images Braves right-hander Reynaldo Lopez is moving to the bullpen “for now” to work out a mechanical flaw in his delivery, Atlanta manager Walt Weiss told reporters Sunday.
Lopez began the season as Atlanta’s No. 2 starter after making just one start in 2025 before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. He had a 2.18 ERA through four starts this season before he gave up four runs on five hits and three walks in one inning of last Tuesday’s 11-4 loss at Washington.
“We see him as a starter,” Weiss said. “He’s working through some things, delivery wise, that type of thing, and he’s getting right there. And when he’s right, he’s one of our best starters. He was our No. 2 coming out of camp, even with some of the issues at the end of spring training.
“So we see him as a starter long term, but right now, trying to iron some things out. He’s going to help us out of the pen in the short term.”
Lopez has extensive experience both as a starter and reliever at the major league level. He’s posted a 48-55 career record and 3.93 ERA over 273 appearances (128 starts) over 11 seasons.
He earned his first All-Star nod and finished 11th in National League Cy Young Award voting during his first season with the Braves in 2024 when he finished with a 1.99 ERA, 148 strikeouts and 42 walks over 135 2/3 innings.
Atlanta kept 22-year-old right-hander JR Ritchie on its major league roster after he allowed two runs on five hits and struck out seven over seven innings in his major league debut Thursday vs. Washington. He’s set to make his first home start Wednesday against Detroit.
The Braves are also expecting right-hander Spencer Strider to make his season debut as soon as this weekend at Colorado after he started the season on the injured list with a strained oblique.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Alex Fitzpatrick officially accepts PGA Tour membership
Apr 26, 2026; Avondale, Louisiana, USA; Alex Fitzpatrick walks on the green on hole 18 during the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Alex Fitzpatrick officially accepted PGA Tour membership following his emotional victory alongside his brother, Matt, in last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
His decision hardly is a surprise, given he said as much following the win, which their parents were on hand to witness.
“I am, indeed, yeah, yeah. I signed as quick as I could. I’m still shaking, and yeah, it was crazy,” the 27-year-old Englishman said during a media interaction at TPC Louisiana on Sunday.
The win was the first on the PGA Tour in his 11th career start for Fitzpatrick, who is now exempt through the 2028 season and is eligible to compete in this week’s Cadillac Championship, the fifth of eight Signature Events this season. The DP World Tour player also qualified for the remaining three — the Truist Championship, the Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship — as well as the 2026 PGA Championship and the 2027 The Players Championship.
Fitzpatrick turned professional in 2022 after his collegiate career at Wake Forest.
–Field Level Media
Celtics return home with chance to finish off reeling Sixers
Braves' Reynaldo Lopez a reliever 'for now' to work on delivery flaw
